Ben Adaephon Delat
Ben Adaephon Delat, commonly known as Quick Ben, was squad mage of the 9th Squad, Bridgeburners, originally from the Seven Cities continentGardens of the Moon, Dramatis Personae, UK MMPB p. xii. Quick Ben was dark skinned and tall with a lean face and fine ascetic featuresGardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.55. He had long, almost feminine hands also described as thin and spidery.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.79 He was wearing leather leggings in Pale.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.155 Whiskeyjack once stated that while Kruppe might have been the most intelligent man alive, Quick Ben was but a short step behind. Quick Ben spoke Malazan with a harsh, Seven Cities accent. His long-standing friendship with Kalam Mekhar, the two of them often working together, led to a habit of them talking in tandem.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK HB p.130/131 Magic As a result of soulshifting, Quick Ben had absorbed the souls of eleven members of a mage cabalMemories of Ice, Chapter 8, UK MMPB p.355-362 which gave him access to at least twelve separate warrens, although he could only access a maximum of seven at any one time. * DenulGardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.79 - It seemed to Tattersail that he used a twisted version of Denul - The Path of Healing- one of his souls was that of Ullan, a Soletaken priestess of Shedenul/Soliel * D'riss - The Path of Stone - from cabal member Keluger * Hood's Path - The Path of Death * Fener's Warren - bordering Chaos itself - from cabal member Narkal * Imperial Warren * Meanas - The Path of Shadow and Illusion - from cabal member Renisha * RashanMemories of Ice, Chapter 8, UK MMPB p.389 - The Path of Darkness (spelled Rasham in Glossary of Memories of Ice) - also from cabal member Etra * Ruse - The Path of the Sea * Serc - The Path of the Sky - from cabal member Birith'erah * Telas - The Path of Fire - Child of Tellan * Tennes - The Path of the Land - from cabal member Gellid * Thyr - The Path of Light Quick Ben shifted the soul of Hairlock into a puppet, magic which hadn't been done in a thousand years. He used a Warren which Tattersail didn't even recognize. She judged him to be her superior in the lore.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.80. Tattersail perceived Quick Ben's sorcery as bleeding a strange, swirling flavor.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.135 On another occasion he emerged from a swirling cloud which held a strange spicy scent.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.146 Whilst on the trail of Hairlock, Quick Ben's body was hovering cross-legged a few inches above the floor.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.152 History Pre-Bridgeburners At the age of four, Quick Ben woke up screaming from a bad dream in which "he had died, yet walked the world still, for he had forgotten something. Forgotten, and no matter what he did, no recollection was possible. And so his corpse wandered, everywhere, with ever the same question on his lips, a question delivered to every single person cursed to cross his path. What? What have I forgotten?"The Bonehunters, Chapter 15, UK MMPB p.736 At the age of ten, living in Aren, Quick Ben played a prank on his entire extended family of 42 members including four-month old Minarala. This included the use of the old art of making figures which incorporated some part of a person like a hair or nail clipping to then be used in a magic ritualThe Bonehunters, Chapter 15, UK MMPB p.732. His olderThe Bonehunters, Chapter 15, UK MMPB p.731 sister Torahaval chased him across the city and eventually caught up with him in the Prelid Quarter where Quick played another trick on her. After that, Torahaval decided to hate him foreverThe Bonehunters, Chapter 15, UK MMPB p.731-733. She completed rituals to sever her ties to her brother but he made certain that not all threads between them were cutThe Bonehunters, Chapter 15, UK MMPB p.752. At one time, possibly prior to his joining the Malazan Army, Quick Ben had been, or posed, as a High Priest of Rashan in Seven Cities. On the night the cult was annihilated at the Rashan Temple at Ehrlitan, he had watched Lostara Yil perform the Shadow dance, having arrived at the temple under a different name. Cotillion told Lostara years later that on that night, the attraction between her and Quick had been mutual as far as he knew. After the dance, during the night, the assassinations had begun, although Quick Ben had not been alone, there had been two others as well, Cotillion, and likely Shadowthrone.House of Chains, Chapter 8 "True. But there were three of us that night, so very long ago in Ehrlitan." "Delat, who had a different name for that mission and was my partner’s responsibility besides—Delat let Bidithal go. I suppose it seemed a…a betrayal, yes? It certainly did to my partner. Certainly to this day Shadowthrone—who was not Shadowthrone then, simply a particularly adept and ambitious practitioner of Rashan’s sister warren, Meanas—to this day, I was saying, Shadowthrone stokes eternal fires of vengeance". Apart from Lostara, Quick Ben also let Bidithal go, an act which brought him the wrath of Shadowthrone.House of Chains, Chapter 8, UK MMPB p.388-394 For a discussion about the timeline of this event see the Malazan Empire Forum thread on the topic. Quick Ben had been a former prime contender for the Magi of Shadow position in the Deck of Dragons. After defecting from the cult of Rashan and burning the robes of his vestmentGardens of the Moon, Chapter 12, UK MMPB p.401, he became a mage primarily utilizing the Meanas warren. He then became one of twelve members of the Holy Falah'd's Mage cabal. According to the Korvalah demon Pearl, the name Ben Adaephon Delat was marked on the scrolls listing the Mages who fell to the Empire in Seven CitiesGardens of the Moon, Chapter 13, UK MMPB p.423. The Forging of the Bridgeburners Whiskeyjack and his 7th Company were tasked with hunting down Quick Ben and his cabal during the Malazan Empire's conquest of Seven Cities. They chased him across the Pan'potsun Waste and into the Holy Desert, Raraku led by a local guide called Kalam Mekhar. This chase became the event which forged Whiskeyjack's recruits into the elite Bridgeburner company, so called because the holy desert was said to have burned the bridges to their pasts. During the pursuit, one by one the eleven mages in the cabal died and shifted their souls into Quick Ben and in the end only he remained. Among these souls were: *Kebharla, more a scholar than a mageMemories of Ice, Chapter 8, UK MMPB p.356 *Renisha, a sorceror of High MeanasMemories of Ice, Chapter 8, UK MMPB p.359 *Keluger, a Septime Priest of D'riss *Narkal, the warrior-mage sworn to Fener and aspirant to the god's Mortal Sword *Ullan, the Soletaken priestess of Soliel *Set'alahd Crool, a Jhag half-blood *Etra, a mistress of Rashan *Birith'erah, mage of the Serc warren *Gellid, witch of Tennes Once Whiskeyjack and his Bridgeburners caught up with Quick Ben, Kalam was revealed to have been the mage's accomplice. However, a mutual respect had blossomed between the men and Quick Ben as well as Kalam joined the Bridgeburners at the end of this fraught pursuit. It is also indicated by Cotillion that the event which occurred at the Temple of Rashan involving Bidithal and Lostara Yil had taken place after the forging of the Bridgeburners, when Quick Ben had been posing under a different name.House of Chains, Chapter 8 "Did you know Delat—or, rather, the man I would eventually learn was Delat—would have taken you for his own? Not just the one night. You would have joined him as a Bridgeburner, and that would well have pleased him." In Gardens of the Moon Pale Quick Ben was stationed with his fellow Bridgeburners digging tunnels beneath the city of Pale. During the final battle, these tunnels collapsed and only due to one of Fiddler's 'bad' feelings, Quick Ben and some of the others escaped.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.134 Just prior to the battle, on an errand for High Fist Dujek Onearm the Malaz 2nd Army mage, Hairlock used the opportunity to strike a deal with Whiskeyjack and Quick Ben to ensure his survival in the upcoming assault on Moon's Spawn and its guardian, Anomander Rake.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.65/81 Quick Ben, Whiskeyjack, Kalam and Sorry went in search of Hairlock after the battle. Finding the dying mage, Quick Ben performed a Soulshifting, transferring Hairlock's soul to the body of a puppet. He then handed over responsibility of the puppet to Tattersail, who had been present, and departed with the rest of his squad for the city.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.79-82 On the day Quick Ben and the rest of the squad were due to leave for a covert mission to Darujhistan, Tattersail hosted a meeting with him, Whiskeyjack, Kalam and Fiddler which was interrupted when Fiddler had one of his 'bad' feelings.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.126-135 During this meeting, Quick Ben stated that it was the intention of the Bridgeburners to cut away Tayschrenn's support and cause his fall from grace.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.128 He again used a warren which Tattersail did not recognize.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.135 Quick Ben, Kalam and Mallet took the injured Captain Paran in secret to Tattersail's lodging. Quick Ben, who was linked to Hairlock had summoned the puppet to come by Warren and join them, however lost contact when Hairlock went beyond the Gates of the Shadow Realm. When Quick next felt the presence of the puppet, Hairlock was being followed by Hounds of Shadow.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.146/151-156 Quick told Tattersail that it would be some time before Hairlock would be able to shake off the hounds. He and and his squad mates then left Tattersail to depart for Darujhistan.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.155/156 Darujhistan Prior to the squad crossing Lake Azur, Quick Ben made contact with HairlockGardens of the Moon, Chapter 8, UK MMPB p.260-263 In Memories of Ice Quick Ben was sent by Whiskeyjack to trap the Pannion Seer. Joining forces with the Bonecaster Talamandas, he recovered from the poisoning of the warrens and gained access to them, but during their jaunt he was warned by Hood to dissuade Ganoes Paran from blessing High House Chains as part of the Deck. When he chose mercy as the Master of the Deck, the wizard saved the Seer's sister from the Rift. In The Bonehunters ] The wizard joined the ranks of the Bonehunters stationed under the Adjunct as the army's High Mage. He saved his sister, Torahaval, from becoming a victim of PolielThe Bonehunters, Chapter 15, UK MMPB p.758-766. During the battle of Malaz Island, the wizard stayed in a his cabin on the Froth Wolf, planning to come to the aid of Kalam at Kalam's request. However, before Quick Ben could join Kalam, he was taken by Shadowthrone to assist Trull Sengar at the Throne of Shadow. In Dust of Dreams When Fiddler read the Deck of Dragons in Letheras, Quick Ben was named Magus of High House Dark. He traveled with the Bonehunters across the Letherii continent into the Wastelands. When the Bonehunters were confronted by an army of K'Chain Nah'ruk, he destroyed an entire phalanx of the Nah'ruk before disappearing into a massive crater created by the Nah'ruk's lightning. In The Crippled God Quick Ben visited the Spar of Andii where he recovered two items, one of which was a scepter with which he summoned a horse from a handful of horse hair. Whilst doing so, he addressed an unseen 'Mother', possibly Mother Dark. Once Quick departed, the tapping of a cane upon rock was heardThe Crippled God, Chapter 2. Quick Ben joined forces with Kalam in helping the Paran siblings fight the Pure Blood Forkrul Assail in the north of Kolanse, using their skills to assassinate the Pure Bloods on and off the battlefield. The two united with Fiddler and Hedge at the Marine/Heavy detachment guarding the Crippled God's body in the final battle with the Assail. Quotes Trivia Quick Ben (Ben Adaephon Delat) might be the author Adaephon who wrote the poem Azath. Notes and References The image used in the info box is an interpretation of Ben Adaephon Delat by slaine69.jpg pl:Ben Adaephon Delat Category:Aral Gamelon Category:Ascendants Category:Bonehunter Category:Bridgeburners Category:Cult of Rashan Category:D'riss mages Category:Denul mages Category:High Mages Category:Hood's Path mages Category:Imperial Warren Category:Mages Category:Malazans Category:Males Category:Meanas mages Category:Rashan mages Category:Ruse mages Category:Serc mages Category:Seven Cities natives Category:Telas mages Category:Tennes mages Category:Thyr mages